A battery with three times the energy density of conventional lithium cells? Yes, please! Dr. Won Il Cho, principal researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, said that his team “managed to develop essential technologies that can improve the performance and the safety of the Lithium Metal Ion batteries which can be potentially applied to various industrial applications, especially for unmanned vehicles.” The new cells are capable of maintaining 80% of the initial performance after going through more than 1,200 charge/discharge cycles.

The new lithium metal ion battery has an artificial protection layer for its lithium metal anode and has about a 10-fold higher capacity than a conventional graphite anode, providing nearly triple the energy density. It also has optimized electrolyte formulation.